When Should's Overwhelm... a Five Minute Friday Post

I missed out again on Thursday night but it was because it was the National Day of Prayer. Friday --well, I did a bit of soaking up some sun on Friday (and Saturday!) and Sunday... well, you know how it goes! Today is the first time I have been inside and in front of a screen for days... but I must admit, the sun is whispering my name and the patio awaits me and my stack of books... but this only takes five minutes, right?  Let's do this.

This is Five Minute Friday (- a five minute timed free write) and our One Word Prompt for the day is: SHOULD

{GO}

I have a love/hate relationship with this word!

As in, for real.

Y'all know how I love me some bossy lists, and you also probably know by now that I'm not always a fan of having anyone boss me around. (Except Him... sure... mostly.)

I don't know about you, but me? Well, I can 'Should' myself to death --or at least to burn out, right?

Please tell me that I am not alone...

Assure me that you do this too, even though you know better!

Even sitting in this chair and tapping this out --all the Should's can drown out what He is saying.  I should have written on Thursday night... I should have come to the Twitter party... I should have made time to write on Friday.  I should be better at this blogging gig.  I should write more.  I should... I should... I should...

But here's the deal:

When I pay attention to all the Shoulding I should have done, I forget what it is that He is clearly calling me to in this season and at this time.

The only thing that He tells me that I should do right now is to pay attention to how He wired me and to let Him love me.

That's it.

Easy Peasy.

Only - it turns out, not so much ---because, Gah! 

There is so much to do!

But over and over again, His list of Should's for me whisper quiet and oh how I wish sometimes they would be louder than all the other noise.  

They whisper to come and rest... to learn the unforced rhythms of grace... to sit and be silent... to stand still and watch and see the salvation of the Lord...

Some days, it's my Should's that need saving. 

Amen?

Because here's the thing: 

When we let our minds be given over to thoughts of Should's, we let our hearts grow weary and we open the door to the enemy of our soul to put on heavy burdens that are not ours to carry.  At least not anymore!  

When we begin to live our lives according to bossy lists and we focus on things we didn't (yet) get done --we fill our vocabulary with regrets and we fall for the lie that life is hard and that nothing ever works out.  

We begin to feel that downward spiral pull and we recite what the enemy has on repeat on that endless tape: You're not good enough.  You should have done it already/better/differently... you should be more/less... you should be quieter/louder... you should... you should... you should...

And like I used to tell My Honey all. the. time. as a newlywed, "You know what you should do..."

But for real:

We should KICK HIM OUT and tell him to just stop talking!

Instead of listening to him and all his lies, we should listen to God and what He has to say about us.

I have a sneaking suspicion* that His thoughts towards us are kinder... more loving... more full of grace... and of course --of COURSE-- they are more in line with Truth!

{STOP}

And I also suspect that what He is saying to me lately, He is saying to you as well! All you 'should' do is tune your heart and your ears to His voice... and do what He asks you to. Do only what He asks you to do.  Anything else is extra and bonus and it should (ha!) fill you up and refresh you.  

Springtime can be full of Should's... with more daylight and sunshine and outdoor adventures, our lists get longer and chores more bossy. But don't forget to let Him boss you a bit first because He is the best and smartest and kindest 'boss' I know! He is the kind of boss who rolls up His sleeves and works WITH you to help get it done, so that He can relax with you and celebrate a job well done... Something about, 'Well done, good and faithful servant!'


Now... Just Breathe.  

Silence all the Should's and ask Him,

"Lord, what do YOU have planned for my day?" 

I can't guarantee that it will be easy... but I can promise you that He won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you! I can almost guarantee that the #1 thing He thinks you should do longs for you to do is the same thing He has been calling me to as well: 

Just let Him love you!

Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today.  Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click HERE to read what others have to say about: "SHOULD"

* = This is when my Five Minutes ran out. Grace please for finishing my sentence (and my thoughts.)

The FMF lowdown: The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights & then we write our hearts out & hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday & Friday (& sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage & uplift... where we share prayer requests & praise reports... where we talk food & friends & we find support & kindred hearts. It's where we are reminded that life is good & God is good & we're not alone... & then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts & our fingers do the talking tapping & we hit publish before we can second guess it all away. We'd love to have you join us!

I'm also linking up with the lovely writer communities linked below:

#FreshMarketFriday...

Debbie Kitterman for #TuneInThursday

Kelly Balarie for #RaRaLinkUp

LORI SCHUMAKER FOR #MOMENTSOFHOPE

Barbie Swihart for #Glimpsesofhisbeauty

JENNIFER DUKES LEE FOR #TELLHISSTORY

HOLLY BARRETT FOR #TESTIMONYTUESDAY

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THE LORD SPOKE TO ME AND THROUGH ME REGARDING SABBATH REST AND I TURNED MY 31 DAYS SERIES INTO AN EBOOK ON AMAZON.  IF YOU ARE FINDING YOURSELF IN NEED OF REST (WHICH --WHO ISN'T, REALLY?) CHECK OUT THIS SHORT, DAILY DEVOTIONAL  31 DAYS OF RESTING IN GOD ...IT'S EASIER/HARDER THAN YOU THINK!  

YOU CAN PURCHASE IT BY CLICKING HERE OR GRABBING IT FROM THE SIDE BAR TO THE RIGHT IF REST IS SOMETHING YOU KNOW YOU NEED, BUT JUST KEEP PUTTING OFF!